Love and Dance
by SideshowJazz1
Summary: A parody of the movie musical "Hairspray". I do not own the characters...Helga Pataki admires the boy on the local dance show, and takes her chance to be on the show with him, although in public she can't show her affection. When she discovers the segregation problems and is pulled into them, she plans to show that talent isn't only skin deep and anyone can change the world. R&R!
1. Chapter 1: Day In The Life

**A/N: Hi! I know I'm writing several stories, but I'm ahead with all of them, so enjoy this. This storyline just came into my head recently. It's a Hey Arnold-ified version of the movie _Hairspray. _Here's a run-up of the main characters and who they represent:**

**Helga Pataki: Tracy Turnblad**

**Arnold: Link Larkin**

**Phoebe Heyerdahl: Penny Pingleton**

**Gerald Johanssen: Seaweed Stubbs**

**Brooke Wellington-Lloyd: Velma Von Tussle**

**Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd: Amber Von Tussle**

**Timberly Johanssen: "Li'l" Inez Stubbs**

**And so on. But I know a lot of people will be asking why I put Rhonda as Amber, rather than Lila. Simple: We need a character to be Amber's mom, and since Lila doesn't seem to have a mom... Also, Lila is far too nice to be Amber. Plus, I sometimes thought Rhonda had a little crush on Arnold.**

**Main storyline: It's spring of 1962. Black Civil Rights and integration are fighting against the old ways. Meanwhile, Helga Pataki, a girl with a dream, gets her chance to shine, and she shows that she doesn't have to be pretty to both change the world and snag the boy who stole her heart. All it takes is love, determination...and a little bit of hairspray!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from "Hairspray" or "Hey Arnold".**

It was a Monday morning in the spring of 1962 in Hillwood, and everything started off the way it always did. Sixteen-year-old Helga Geraldine Pataki woke up at the alarm, wishing she could've slept through it as usual, dragged herself out of bed, got dressed, put her hair in pigtails (using plenty of hairspray to secure them) added her pink bow, then grabbed an apple to eat on the way to school. Hillwood High was the only high school in the catchment area, and in her opinion, it wasn't exactly the best school, but she didn't really care.

Yet again, she missed the school bus and had to run most of the way to school. The bell rang just as she got to her locker, where her best friend, Phoebe Heyerdahl, was waiting.

"Come on, we'll be late for class!" Phoebe exclaimed, and they both ran to geography class.

However, halfway through class, a boy sitting near Helga at the back raised his hand to complain. "I can't see the board."

The teacher immediately saw the cause, and called the girl to order. "Helga Pataki, how many times do I have to tell you that if you keep wearing your hair inappropriately, I will have no choice but to give you a detention."

"What's inappropriate about them, Ms Slovak?" Helga demanded. "They're just pigtails."

"They are inappropriate because they are obscuring the sight of the other students." Ms Slovak said. "If there is one more complaint about your hair, it'll be detention for you."

Helga didn't really care about detention, or anything in school. There was only one thing she cared about, one person she cared about above all others. It was all she thought about most of the time, and as the day wore on, she couldn't stand it. She stared at the clock, willing it to be three o'clock. When the bell finally rang, she shot out of her seat, found Phoebe, and ran to the school bus, and after getting to the stop, she and Phoebe continued running, right up to the doorstep of her house, although she did poke her head into her dad's phone store around the corner to say hi. Not that Bob ever acknowledged it, but he noticed when she didn't.

"Come on, Pheebs, we're running late!" Helga yelled as she ran to the living room and switched the TV on. Her favourite show was on, all right.

"Hey there, teenage Hillwood!" the host announced. "Don't change that channel, because it's time for the show with all the hottest new moves! Brought to you by Ultraclutch Hairspray!" The show was only local, and the main dancers were in it were from the same school as the girls, but they still watched the show religiously.

The theme song began, and the two girls watched, Helga occasionally humming a bit of the tune. It was a show to promote the new dances, with a council of twenty teens. But she didn't really care about dance, as such. There was one reason she watched it. Phoebe liked the show, but she only really watched it because Helga did. The only time she really watched of her own choice was the monthly Negro Day show. The usual group of kids were all white, due to segregation, but they gave one day a month to give the black teenagers a chance to shine.

Helga did laugh a bit at times. The female lead dancer kept losing step, and she even fell over at one point and pushed another girl out of the way at another time.

"_Roll call!" _announced the host and dancers.

The usual line-up began with the lead female dancer first. "_I'm Rhonda!"_

"_Sid!"_ He had to shove Rhonda out of the way.

"_Nadine!"_

"_Curly!:"..._The role call went on like this.

Then.. "_Lulu!"_

"_Hilda!"_

Helga immediately paid full attention as the lead male dancer sauntered forward. "_And I'm...Arnold." _

Helga sighed dreamily. Phoebe glanced, but didn't comment. She knew well about her friend's secret crush on the teenage heartthrob, and she wasn't alone with that crush. Everyone at school seemed to be in love with him. Phoebe could still remember the time a few of the freshman girls mobbed him in the halls.

But Helga's feelings went deeper. She'd never spoken to Arnold, but she tried to get his attention in other ways. She often talked about him scornfully to other people. "Thinks he's so great just because he's on a tacky little show. How did he manage to get on there with that football head, anyway? I mean, he's not really the best looking guy ever, is he?" She also took every opportunity she had to push past him in the hallways. He would always just ignore her.

Everyone knew that version of Helga, the tough mean girl who didn't care about anyone or anything. Most people thought that she hated Arnold for no real reason. But when she was alone, Helga turned into a different person. Only Phoebe occasionally saw her friend's vulnerable side, but usually kept quiet about it.

Helga was obsessed with Arnold, completely. She'd written poetry about him all the time, with lines like "_Why must I hold you only whilst I dream?" _and "_Wandering the dismal depths of my tormented soul." _She'd also built a shrine resembling Arnold which she kept in her closet. She'd even been able to get ahold of a picture of Arnold, which she kept in a heart-shaped locket. Not that it wasn't typical fangirl behaviour, but Helga felt that her feelings went deeper, that she actually loved Arnold. She longed to know him properly, speak to him, let him know how she felt. She also learned all the dances of the show, feeling as if she was on the show, dancing alongside him.

The theme ended, and Helga jumped up, ready to start learning the new dance. At that moment, her mom walked in.

"Oh, hi, Helga." she said with a weak smile. "Hi, uh...Phoebe. How was school?" She was, as usual, looking disorientated.

"It was as usual, Miriam." Helga said, not taking her eyes off the screen. "A waste of time."  
"Oh, right, that's good." Miriam murmured, not taking anything in as usual. "Just make sure you finish watching TV at seven, honey."

"I know, I know." Helga muttered. "Bob's got his commercial on, then he's got his favourite game show to watch." she explained to Phoebe. Bob was completely wrapped up in his successful shop. The only person in his family he ever paid real attention to was Olga, Helga's successful talented twenty-seven-year-old sister who had been living across town for the last three years and came over often.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Helga sighed and went to answer it. She put on a smile when she saw who was there. "Oh, hi, Mr Heyerdahl."

Kyo Heyerdahl didn't smile. "Hello, Helga." he said. "Is Phoebe over here? She's meant to be at her fencing session at home after school."

There was no point in lying, as Phoebe had come into the hallway. Kyo glared at his daughter. "Phoebe, you know you are meant to come straight home. Your fencing teacher comes to a lot of trouble to come to our house to teach you. Why are you here?"

"I'm sorry, Dad." Phoebe said meekly. "I know I'm meant to be fencing with Sensei after school. I will come straight home in future."

"Bye, Pheebs." Helga called as her best friend was led away, leaving Helga to gaze at the TV screen that showed the one person she loved more than anyone else.

**So, what do you think so far? Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2: Audition

**OK, let's continue. And for anyone who isn't familiar with the ring-giving tradition, it's not an engagement ring. It's just a "you're officially my girlfriend" ring. Thanks for your reviews, LeDawn and BettyAwesome715.**

The commercial break came and the dancers could at last have a rest. But as Brooke Wellington-Lloyd appeared, most of the group inwardly groaned. The manager was cruel and hard to everyone but Rhonda, her daughter.

Brooke's heels walked along, right up to Nadine, and immediately, she pulled out the stuffing Nadine had put in to pad her bra. She was about to move on to pull out the padding Harold always seemed to have further down, but he said quickly "OK, OK, I'll take it out if I have to!"

Rhonda went up to Nadine and hissed "You try that trick one more time, and you won't have feet to dance with any more, got that? You're such a whor-"

"Rhonda..."

"..oly moly." Rhonda finished. Arnold had just come up. He was her boyfriend, and she knew he wouldn't be too happy to see her threatening Nadine. He was always nice to everyone he met, and always looked for the best in people. If she lost him, she'd lose everything. Besides, no one would dare outright call anyone that word. "Baby." Rhonda greeted him. "Great dancing this afternoon."

Arnold smiled. "Rhonda...I'd like you to wear my ring now." He held the ring out.

Rhonda gasped theatrically. "Oh, Arnold!" She pulled him in for a kiss.

"Rhonda, darling!" called Brooke, walking up to them. "Save your personal life for the camera, honey." Rhonda smiled and went off to fix her makeup, showing off about her ring to Lila, since she's once had a crush on Arnold when they were kids, and Rhonda was sure she'd be jealous.

Unfortunately, Lila was too sweet for that, and just gushed about how it was "ever so wonderful" that they were officially a serious item.

Brooke went to the cameraman at that moment. "Speaking of cameras, what were you doing out there? If you did your job properly, my daughter would actually be visible."

"I do have to show some of the other kids." the cameraman protested. "There are twenty."

Brooke smirked. "You know, this city isn't that big, and it doesn't have many stations. Who knows, this time next year you might just have to settle for professional family photo-taking." she said smoothly. Oh yes, Brooke Wellington-Lloyd knew how to get her way.

The next day, Phoebe and Helga watched the show by the TVs in the window of the electronics shop. Arnold was singing the newest hit song, a sweet romantic song while Rhonda danced in front of him.

"How the heck did she get to be the lead dancer?" Helga scowled. "She can't even dance well, let alone professionally."

Phoebe shrugged. "I heard Nadine saying that her mother is the manager of the show, and the whole station. Plus, she's won Miss Teenage Hairspray for the last two years. I guess most people like her dancing skills."

The girls also found out something interesting. Lila Sawyer was leaving the show for "just nine months", which left an opening for a girl "just as sweet but maybe not quite as sultry".

Helga smirked when she heard this. She'd always been a bit jealous of Lila, who was pretty, popular, and a friend to almost everyone. "Little slut." she muttered with a clear air of satisfaction.

"Wanna be one of the nicest kids in town?" Arnold said onscreen. "Cut school tomorrow morning to come to the studio audition."

Phoebe and Helga exchanged glances. Helga smirked and nodded. Phoebe smiled supportively.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as all that.

"No." Bob said when he overheard the two girls talking about it.

"No, what, Dad?" snapped Helga.

"No way is my daughter going to prance around on a silly little show!"

"It's my life, Bob, and I can do what I want with it!" Helga shot back. "If I decide that I want to audition for a dance show, I will."

"What's going on?" Miriam asked, coming in.

"I'm going to audition for a dance show tomorrow." Helga began.

"No, she isn't!" boomed Bob. "Dancing is not your future! At least your sister had a goal that suited her abilities!" Bob didn't know of any of Helga's abilities. She could dance perfectly if she made an effort.

"It's my dream." Helga protested hotly. "Just because _your _dreams are oh so wonderful." Bob mentioning her sister just made her more angry.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Bob yelled. "That's enough out of you, Olga!"

"Helga, Bob." Helga corrected, glaring at him. She was used to Bob calling her by her sister's name. Whenever he was paying attention to her, he got her name wrong sixty percent of the time.

"I think we should let her audition, B." Miriam said drowsily. "If it's so important to her."

Regardless of what either of her parents thought, Helga went to audition. Brooke was teaching the other kids the new dances.

"Look, Arnold's there. Right there!" Helga whispered. "Phoebe, pinch me, I think I'm dreaming! I can't believe I'm doing this."

"I can't believe I'm watching you do this." Phoebe whispered back.

Brooke turned at their moment and saw the auditioners. "Rhonda, look at them. This town has sure gone downhill since I was crowned Miss Hillwood."

"Mother, not more ancient history." sighed Rhonda as she continued to dance with the other girls. Brooke was daydreaming about how times had changed, then broke off to say "Rhonda, not that move, it's so risqué."

"Wake up, Mother, this isn't 1930." Rhonda pointed out. Nadine and Sheena started giggling at this point and Brooke glared at them.

It was time to get the auditioners to dance. "Proceed." ordered Brooke.

"Are you scared? We're on live." Nadine said.

"I'm sure I can cope." Helga said coldly.

Rhonda was looking over the other girls. "This one will never get a date in these hand-me-down clothes."

Brooke glanced over. "Kid, she'll never get a date until someone buys her a new nose."

"Do you dance like you dress?" Rhonda asked another girl.

"Rhonda, no need to be cruel!" Arnold began to protest.

"Would you swim in an integrated pool?" Brooke's question was straight to Helga.

The blonde smiled lazily. "Yep. It would be unavoidable, integration becoming the new frontier and all."

"Not in Hillwood." Brooke replied. "And may I be frank? First impressions are tough, and when I saw you, I knew it. If those ears weren't enough, your reply just blew it." (Helga had a monobrow and ears with oversized lobes).

Helga started walking away before Brooke was finished telling her she hadn't got the place. Phoebe didn't know what to say to her best friend, but it probably wouldn't have mattered. For a moment, a light had shone in Helga's pretty much dismal life. Brooke's cruel words had extinguished it.

**Well, that's the second chapter over. Please review!**

**I've also got a question. For those of you who are asking, obviously there's going to be a lot of Arnold/Helga in this story, and if you know this movie, you'll know that there's another pairing coming up. But should I pair Rhonda with someone? The most popular boys she's paired with are all members of the council. Personally, I'm a Rhondurly fan. What do YOU think?**


	3. Chapter 3: New Dance

**Now, onto the next chapter! Oh, and yes, I did sneak in the lyrics of "I Can Hear The Bells" (although there are intentional mistakes in them) as Helga's poem and Arnold does sing "Ladies' Choice" Thank you for reviewing, BettyAwesome715, LeDawn, Nep2uune, Love and Happiness, and berrisweet101.**

To make matters worse, Helga got caught sneaking into class and ended up with detention. Phoebe was more lucky and escaped punishment completely.

However, that's when some interesting things happened. The detention room was full of African-American kids dancing to music. Helga's eyes settled on a boy with a tall stack of dark hair in the middle of the room who was dancing like she'd never seen anyone dance before, with daring moves. Helga couldn't help but think she'd seen him somewhere before.

"Interesting move." she muttered as she watched.

"Can I help you?" snapped one of the older boys.

"I'm just watching him dance." she said. "Criminy, can't I even do that?"

"They can put anyone in detention, but they can't stop my moves and my music." the dancing boy said.  
"So, your dance got a name?" Helga asked in interest.

The boy shrugged. "I just use it to attract the women."

Suddenly, it clicked in Helga's mind where she'd seen the boy before. "Oh, I remember you. You're on the dance show. On Negro Day, right? Once a month. My friend Phoebe watches you. Personally, I don't care whether it's Negro Day or not." The kids understood that basically, her meaning was that she didn't care what colour a person was.

"Good for you." said the boy.

"So, would the dance be like this?" Helga asked, trying out the moves.

"Hey, you can't do that!" exclaimed one of the girls, looking outraged.

"Hang on..." the dancer said, watching Helga. "Pretty good for a white chick."

"So, you got any other moves?" Helga asked.

"Well, here's something I use to introduce myself." the boy said. He used made-up dance moves for each of his names. "My name's Gerald Martin Johanssen. What's your name, baby?"

"Helga G. Pataki!" Helga introduced herself, trying out her own dance moves. She was starting to get over her disappointment at the audition. "_Besides, hanging out with these kids would really annoy Bob and Miriam." _she smirked to herself.

"Well, Helga, you've got the moves." Gerald said approvingly. "You're, like, one of us."

But she didn't count on what happened next as she joined the other kids. The door opened, and Helga froze as she saw who was standing in the doorway.

Arnold was watching her. "Hey." he smiled. "Our host is going to be at tomorrow's disco. If he saw your moves, you'd be on the show in a heartbeat." He smiled at her again as he left the room.

That evening, Helga started writing in her pink poetry book. The way Arnold had smiled had left her feeling dizzy. He'd actually looked at her. Her heartstrings had been pulled, bells chimed in her head. She daydreamed about what it would be like to be with Arnold, to be dating him. That evening, she went to her closet and pulled out her fourteenth pink book full of poetry, turning to the first blank page.

"_Round one: He'll ask me on a date, and round two: I'll primp but won't be late_

_Because round three is when we kiss inside his car, won't go all the way, I'll sure go pretty far!_

_Round four: He'll ask me for my hand and then round five: We'll book the wedding band_

_So by round six, Rhonda, much to your surprise, this heavyweight champion wins the prize!" _Helga wrote, unaware of the goofy smile on her face, kneeling in front of her closet shrine.

The school disco went to plan. Phoebe and Helga arrived late, but sure enough, some of the boy dancers were acting as a band, and the host of the show was up. Arnold was in front as the singer. He was the one boy out of all the dancers who could sing, it seemed. The song he was singing at that time was full of innuendo, but it was very catchy. When the girls arrived, he was halfway through the chorus.

"..._take me home, and then unwrap me_

_Shop around, and little darlin', I've got to be..._

_The ladies' choice, the ladies' choice..."_

Helga had told Phoebe about what Arnold had said to her, and her friend was, as usual, ever-supportive. "Get out there and show them!" Phoebe said. "You can do it."

"Wait..." Helga said, spotting Gerald on the other side of the gym. The black kids and the white kids were separated by a velvet cord, but she could still talk to him. She walked up to the cord. "Hey Gerald, wanna dance with me?"

"You crazy, girl?" Gerald exclaimed. "I have to dance with my group, you have to dance with yours. It's just the way it is."

"But it's your dance. I just wanted to show off your moves to those other morons on this side." Helga said, gesturing to the other white kids who never took any notice of the African-Americans.

"Well then, why don't you borrow my dance? Go get 'em." Gerald encouraged. "Dance like you did yesterday."

A rare smile crossed Helga's face for a moment before she stepped to the front and began dancing as the band continued to play. The host's eyes were on her. And, even better, Arnold was watching her.

Rhonda, standing at the back, gasped as nearly all the white kids joined in with Helga and the black kids watched. Arnold continued to sing, completely focused on Helga. He seemed to be singing to her, which was making Rhonda scowl. As for the host, he was staring at the dancing girl, grinning and giving the thumbs up.

"_Hey little girl on a spending spree,I don't come cheap but the kisses come free_

_On closer inspection I'm sure that you'll agree..._

_Oh, hey little girl listen to my plea, I come with a lifetime guarantee_

_One day maybe we'll find that baby makes three..._

_It's the ladies' choice, I'm the ladies' choice_

_The ladies' choice, I'm the ladies' choice, choice, choice, I'm the ladies' choice."_

"Arnold!" cried Rhonda, but her call went unheard. Everyone else was enjoying themselves. Even shy little Phoebe moved a little, although no one saw her.

It was Phoebe who told Helga's parents all about it. Olga was home at the time that afternoon Phoebe skipped fencing to show the Patakis. She stopped by Bob's store first. "Mr Pataki, it's really important that you see this. Could you possibly come back to your house for a minute?" she asked politely.

Bob took a lot of persuasion, but she managed to get through to him, and Miriam and Olga were easy. Soon, the three Patakis were gathered in the lounge as Phoebe switched on the TV. The theme song was halfway through the roll call.

"_Sheena!"_

"_Harold!"_

"_Cookie!"_

"_Connie!"_

"_Arnold!"_

Finally, the new pink-clad member of the council of kids stepped forward, smiling more than anyone present had ever seen her smile before. "_And I'm Helga!"_

The family gasped.

"My baby sister is on TV!" exclaimed Olga. "Oh, this is amazing!"

"Criminy, Helga's considered one of the best dancers in Hillwood?" Bob said incredulously. "I can't believe it!"

"It's wonderful, isn't it?" Phoebe enthused.

Everyone looked pretty happy as the host interviewed Helga about her interests, her dreams, but Phoebe caught Rhonda's false smile, and the fact that when the possibility of Helga winning Miss Teenage Hairspray came up, she could hear Rhonda say something like "Miss Hairspray is mine!"

She was also sure she caught Arnold saying quietly "We're on the air."

Up against Rhonda, maybe Helga's hopes of winning Arnold's heart wouldn't be quite so easy.

**Well, Helga's on the show, but for how long? And no doubt Bob will insist on her winning Miss Teenage Hairspray. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4: Welcome To The 60s, Miriam!

**OK, so, we will continue. And BTW, I thought using Jamie O as the host would be better than using Gerald's mom, so if you don't like it, I don't really care. Thanks for reviewing, DannySamLover20, BettyAwesome715, and Nep2uune.**

Brooke wasn't pleased to have the girl who treated integration with bored acceptance on the show, especially as she knew the girl was a better dancer than her Rhonda. She was especially shocked when the host seemed to support that view and suggested the show gets rid of Negro Day and mix the black kids in with the rest of the council kids. "This is not a black-and-tan cocktail!" she exclaimed. She had to get rid of Negro Day completely before someone else thought of that.

Brooke felt later that a song that three of the council girls performed together was exactly what described Helga – the "new girl in town". Rhonda performed centre stage with Nadine and Sheena either side of her.

"_She's hip," _sang Nadine serenely as she twirled.

"_So cool!" _gushed Sheena in tune.

Rhonda swung around expressionlessly. "_I'm gonna get her after school."_

"_And yet we'd like to be like her," _sang all three girls. "_Cause she's the kitten that the cats prefer..."_

Rhonda also felt scared, because she suspected that this was the truth. Although Helga showed no interest in Arnold whatsoever, he seemed smitten with her. But every time Helga glared at him, snubbed him, or called him some mean name, usually "Football Head", Rhonda smirked. She loved it that Helga seemed to hate Arnold. She'd be especially sweet to Arnold to make him think about how lucky he was to have a beautiful, kind girlfriend rather than the cold, plain girl that had somehow gotten a place on the show. However, it didn't seem like Arnold was going to look away from the blonde girl that had captured his interest any time soon.

Detention was the "it" place to hang out, because Helga often went there, whether it was because she had to or just to hang out with the black kids. Half the other kids had to wait outside for detention, but when Phoebe tried to get in to join her friend, she was immediately let in.

Helga immediately introduced her. "Pheebs, meet Gerald. Tall Hair Boy, this is my best friend Phoebe." She'd started calling him that, half as an insult and half as a friendly nickname, as she sincerely liked the boy. She immediately noticed the reactions of her friends, though. Gerald stared at Phoebe, and then smiled, adjusting his jacket. Phoebe smiled back shyly. The attraction was obvious.

Negro Day came and went. Nothing much happened except for Brooke snapping at the fact that three of the dancers had performed the same song that Rhonda, Nadine and Sheena had done, in spite of the fact that it was a "black song" - written by an African-American person. The black host, Gerald's older brother Jamie O, stayed completely calm while dealing with Brooke. He might have been a devil at home, but in business, he could be just as smooth as his brother.

Then one afternoon, the phone rang at the Pataki home, and Miriam answered. She was jerked out of her usual stupor when she realized it was the owner of the local dress shop for teenage girls, and they wanted Helga to be their newest spokesgirl. Helga hadn't wanted to accept the offer, but one thing clinched the deal.

"Does that mean I get tons of free stuff?"

"Helga, I think those things like free stuff have to be negotiated." Miriam said. "Maybe...maybe we should get an agent for you."

Helga sighed. "I don't need an agent. I could do agent stuff myself. Even you could just act like you're my agent and I'll do all the talking."

"I don't know, Helga." Miriam said. "I don't think I should leave the house."

"You haven't left the house since Olga left home!" Helga said impatiently. "Isn't it time you went out?"

"Please, don't make me do it. I can't let the neighbours see me like this. I'll go out once I've worked off the effects of my last smoothie."

"Miriam, no one out there will care if you've been drinking or not." Helga said. "You'll enjoy being out. The times have changed. Come on, welcome the Sixties." She pulled her mother out of the house, and minute by minute, Miriam relaxed as no one looked at her for longer than half a second. When they got to the clothes shop, the owner was very enthusiastic, and Miriam finally seemed to wake up long enough to act as Helga's agent. The two of them ended up leaving the shop in sparkly blue dresses that complemented their blonde tresses and blue eyes. The two of them looked amazing. Helga's unusual happiness made her smile, and she looked so much prettier than usual without her trademark scowl. Miriam finally seemed to have awoken from her stupor, and the joy of having broken from the monotony of her life made her face so much more alive and beautiful.

The blondes changed their hairstyles for once, too. Miriam took a hairstyle tip from her daughter and tried out the pigtail look, while Helga was advised to put her hair into a high ponytail. She fixed the hair with her signature pink bow.

"Wait until Bob sees you in this dress!" Helga said. "He'll be totally shocked." She grinned, half-maliciously as they went to the cheap Italian restaurant only a few blocks from their house.

"Helga, I don't know..." Miriam said. "Bob really spends most of his time working at his store. He barely seems to notice me."

"He will in this!" Helga assured her. "You will dazzle him, I'm sure of it. It'll do him some good to notice that someone in this family besides Olga can look good."

At that moment, a voice came from behind her. "Mrs Pataki? I think I'd recognize you anywhere."

Helga and Miriam swung around. Who should be standing there but Rhonda and Brooke, faces icily beautiful and as malicious as ever.

"Hmmm? Sorry, what was that?" Miriam asked.

Helga smiled sarcastically at her co-dancer. "Hello, Rhonda."

"Hello, Helga." Rhonda replied coolly.

"Mom, this is Rhonda and Mrs Wellington-Lloyd. She's the station's manager."

"Oh, right." Miriam said. "It's nice to meet you. I'm so glad she's able to be on the show. She watched it endlessly before."

"Well," Brooke said, "Helga has...redefined the standards we had."

"That's for sure." Rhonda added spitefully.

"Let me guess..." Brooke said, surveying the women's clothes. "New dress?" Miriam nodded shyly. "I thought so." Brooke smirked. "Well, you'll stop a few people in their tracks with those. Anyway, nice to meet you." She walked off, nodding at the blonde girl. "Helga."

"Bye, Helga." Rhonda said sweetly before she followed her mother.

Miriam looked crushed. "Don't say it!" Helga warned her.

"I better just take this back..." Miriam murmured. "I shouldn't have bought it..."  
"Don't you dare! She was just trying to tear us down!" Helga said fiercely. "She just hates me because she thinks I'll beat out Rhonda at Miss Teenage Hairspray!"

**I feel sorry for Miriam. Mostly, it's her marriage to Bob that brought her down into the dozy drunk that she seems to be. But when she stops drinking such as in "The Beeper Queen" she becomes a Super-Mom, and I wanted to show that part of her in this fic. Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5: Rhonda Hates, Phoebe Faints

**Now, let's go. Thank you for reviewing, berrisweet101, DannySamLover20, Nep2uune and BettyAwesome715.**

In class the next week, Rhonda was whispering mean things about Helga, who was practically asleep, not paying attention to anything going on around her.

"It's totally not true what Simone said about her and the whole football team. Please. Anyone can get all those grass stains." Rhonda whispered sarcastically. The other girls giggled at the idea that the blonde was a slut.

Arnold was also in the class. "Stop it, Rhonda." he said. The thing he liked least about Rhonda was her weakness towards gossip and her love for it. "Stop saying all those made-up things about Helga. You know they're all rumours. Just because she's good at dancing."

Rhonda scoffed. "Please. You think she can dance? Maybe you'd rather she be your partner, huh?"

"Excuse me," snapped the teacher, waking up Helga and bringing the attention back. "What is going on?"

Rhonda glanced down at the offensive picture she'd been drawing of the teacher and acted fast. "Helga, why did you draw this? It's awful!"

"What?" gasped Helga. As the teacher wrote out a detention slip for her, she glared at Rhonda. "You set me up, princess!" she snapped in a whisper. The only type of drawing she did to pass the time in class was doodles of hearts and (on occasion) Arnold.

As Helga left, the teacher turned his attention onto Arnold, who had half risen from his chair, wanting to come to Helga's defence but not quite daring to. He asked a question of history that Arnold clearly knew the answer to. Helga turned, wanting to hear the answer. She just wanted to hear him speak.

However, Arnold's less than satisfactory insolent reply was getting him into detention too. Helga couldn't believe her luck.

Arnold winked at her, and she had to slap herself out of view to stop herself from swooning.

As the two of them walked to detention, Helga said awkwardly "You didn't have to do that."

"I know, Helga. I wanted to." Arnold said. "Rhonda really shouldn't have framed you for drawing that picture. Besides," he grinned. "It looks cool here." He tried to copy one of the dances, but unlike Helga, he didn't seem to have the right look for it and it just made him look incredibly stupid. He laughed it off. "Damn, thought I might be getting it."

Gerald walked over to Arnold and Helga as the bell rang, Phoebe hovering nearby. "Hey, my parents are gone and my brother's holding a party tonight, starting now. Wanna come check it out?"

"Sounds like fun." Helga grinned.

"May I come?" Phoebe asked shyly.

"Um...are you sure? He won't mind people like us coming?" Arnold said nervously.

"Cool it." Gerald said. "No one will mind."

Phoebe giggled nervously. "Wow, this has got to be fun."

"I'm glad you guys all feel that way," Gerald smiled, "Because, you know, not many people do." The other black kids called out agreement. As school ended, the black kids, plus the other three, all danced out, ready to get to the bus. Outside of the two themselves, only Helga noticed Gerald's subtle flirting with Phoebe and her friend's cheeks glowing pink.

Gerald also introduced them to another member of his family. "This is my little sister, Timberly."

"Oh, I know you!" Timberly said. "Helga Pataki, right? I was glad to see you made it onto the show."

"So you'll be next?" Helga raised an eyebrow, but she was sincere.

"Definitely!" Timberly grinned.

"Show 'em your moves, girl!" Gerald encouraged.

Timberly could dance wonderfully, and she also showed that her singing voice was just as good.

Rhonda saw Arnold with the black kids, and stared. "Arnold!" she called shrilly. The boy either didn't hear her, or ignored her completely as the kids went to the bus. Everyone on there seemed to be dancing, singing. When they got off, Gerald mimed pulling an imaginary rope, his eyes on Phoebe. As he did so, she stepped closer as if the rope was a leash attached to her. They both stared at each other as Gerald "pulled" her close. Then he pressed two fingers to his lips, before he pressed the same fingers to Phoebe's, in another attempt to flirt. Phoebe dropped to the ground in a swoon.

Helga couldn't keep the smirk off her face as she helped Phoebe up, asking her if she was OK.

"I'm completely fine, Helga." Phoebe answered in a shaky voice. However, she couldn't stop smiling herself.

Meanwhile, Rhonda ran back home and cried out her problems to Brooke. "It was awful! Arnold completely blew me off and was dancing on the bus with the Anger Machine in Pigtails and all those Negroes!"

"Honey, don't worry. Reeling him back in is easy." Brooke reassured her daughter. "Believe me, I know from experience. One visit to the telephone store, and her parents won't let her near anyone from the show."

While Brooke left, Rhonda looked up the Pataki number, since she knew exactly where Helga was going. Miriam, for once, seemed alert enough to answer the phone. "It doesn't matter who I am." Rhonda said on the phone in a disguised voice. "I'm just a concerned friend who has some worrying news about your younger daughter's whereabouts." She told Miriam exactly what was going on.

Back in the ghettos, the black kids, plus Helga, Phoebe and Arnold had gone back to Gerald's house. As he had said, his parents were gone, and although Jamie O was legally an adult in his early twenties, the party was a lot of fun. Gerald introduced the three kids. "This is Arnold, Helga Pataki," then his eyes lingered on the third person. "And this, right here, is Phoebe Heyerdahl."

"Seems like you guys are kind of out of bounds." Jamie O said with a grin. "Whatever."

Rhonda's plan worked out well. It was an evening when Olga had come over, and once she heard where her sister was, she offered to go and fetch her.

Thirty minutes into the party, the door opened, and a voice called out "Helga Geraldine Pataki!"

"Oh, great." muttered Helga. "Just what I needed."

Olga walked in. "How could you rush off here like this and not even call and tell us what you were doing?"

"Well, you wouldn't exactly hear me over the music playing, would you, Olga?" Helga shot back.

Olga gave a sigh and grabbed Helga's wrist. "I'm sorry to have to do this, baby sister, but we have to get home."

Jamie O came over. "Wait a moment! Olga, right? You don't have to rush off straight away."

"I'm sorry, but we do." Olga said primly. "Mommy and Daddy are waiting for us."

"Right, I understand." Jamie O said. But he was smooth, and he not only talked Olga into letting Helga stay, but also into staying herself.

It was a fun evening, for a bit. Gerald asked Phoebe to dance, and when Arnold asked Helga, she pretended to be reluctant.

"Won't you get in trouble?" she asked bitingly.

"I'm not telling my grandparents about this." was all he said.

"I meant your girlfriend."

Arnold shrugged. "She's not really my girlfriend. Maybe. Maybe it's worth it, though. You're an intriguing person."

Helga laughed humourlessly. "You think I'm intriguing, Hair Boy? Honestly, you don't want to know me. Hasn't Princess Rhonda bashed me enough yet? Haven't I insulted you enough times?"

Arnold's expression was serious. "That's not all of you, Helga." he said quietly. "There's more to you than that."

Helga felt too dizzy with love to argue otherwise. "_Arnold is actually dancing with me! And he said he was intrigued by me! Oh, be still my heart!"_

**Decided I needed a nice little moment here. I'm actually enjoying Gerald/Phoebe more here. Please review!**

**PLEASE READ: If there are any people doing fanart out there, I would really like it if someone would do fanart for this fic or any of my others. This one isn't highest priority, but if anyone would like to draw HA characters cosplaying Hairspray, that'd be awesome!**


	6. Chapter 6: Heartbreak, Pataki Style!

**OK. Thanks for reviewing, DannySamLover20, berrisweet101, Nep2uune, BettyAwesome715, detectivezelda (I advise you to try and find it – it's an awesome movie) and LeDawn (and I know, I'm loving writing them – although it is my first time writing Gerald/Phoebe).**

It was only an hour in when Jamie O explained the reason for the party. "It's an ending. An ending to Negro Day. Mrs Wellington-Lloyd told me last week that we've had our last show, and I didn't want to say it straight out. Tonight was about just having fun."

Timberly in particular was disappointed. She was only thirteen, so she hadn't had her chance yet. "I practised so hard!" she said in her most whiny tones. "Now I'll never ever get my chance!"

Jamie O, in an unusual rush of affection, put an arm around his little sister. "Don't worry, Tim, you will get your chance. I promise, if it's the last thing that ever happens, you will be seen."

Helga was scowling as much as usual. "Negro Day wasn't right, anyway." she said. "Why can't you guys just mix with the rest of us? Dance on the same stage at the same time?"

Jamie O laughed dryly. "Have you been dozing off in History, girl?" he said. "It's always been this way, and with some people, it's never going to change."

"Huh!" Helga scoffed. "It's that kind of attitude that makes it so. If you can't dance with us, why not march or something? You know, as a protest to the TV station not letting you on?"

Jamie O stared at Helga for a moment before a smile spread over his face and he started organizing a march for the next day – when it would start, where they would meet, and where they would go.

"Helga, we need to talk." Olga said, pulling her sister into a corner. "Baby sister, are you sure this is the right thing to do? These are lovely people, but if you go with them, you'll be on a list."

"I don't care." Helga said firmly. "I'm involved, and I'm staying involved."

But not everyone was going. Phoebe's restrictive father wasn't going to let his daughter out of the house on Saturdays, and Helga had to understand. But it broke her heart when Arnold, too, said that he couldn't go.

"I'm sorry." he said quietly. "I want to go. But I've been dancing and smiling for three years, and my one chance is at Miss Teenage Hairspray on Sunday. Mrs Wellington-Lloyd invited agents, and she promised I could sing. That's my one chance. I desperately need the money – my grandparents make money off our boarding house, but we still can't pay the bills without my money off the show, and I have to save something. I can't give that up. I can't give up my chance."

Helga wanted to cry, but she held the tears back. She was good at that. "Fine, Football Head. Don't come with us. No one'll miss you, anyway."

"Wait, Helga." Arnold pleaded. "Please try to understand..."

"I don't care, Arnoldo." Helga glared at him. "Go on, have your fun." She slipped through the dancers, hoping Phoebe wasn't still with Gerald. She needed the support of her best friend at a time like this.

But before she could get to her friend, Olga swooped down and pulled her sister into a sympathetic hug. "I saw the whole thing. Don't worry, sweetie, he'll soon figure out that it's you he wants."

Helga pulled away. "Don't feel sorry for me, Olga. I don't need him. And besides, you're my sister, you're supposed to say those things to me."

While Arnold's words broke Helga's heart, Brooke was at the telephone store, and although she found Bob was harder to charm than she imagined, she thought she was getting to him. As long as they were caught in an incriminating position was all she cared about. And she was in luck. Olga offered to drive Helga home, and just as she was about to go home herself, she put her head into the shop and found Brooke shamelessly flirting with her father. She immediately ran back and called Miriam, but by the time she'd gotten there, Brooke had gotten even further, and it looked like they were both guilty. When Bob finally saw his wife and older daughter watching, he certainly looked guilty. "Miriam...Olga..." he began, but neither waited for him to finish. Miriam ran back to her house, informing Helga that she didn't want her to be on the show unless Brooke was fired.

"Whatever, Miriam." Helga said sarcastically, but she didn't want to be on the show herself. If Arnold was going to be there, she'd have to look at him and remember how he broke her heart just then. She knew she wasn't being fair, and she knew that he hadn't meant to hurt her, but she couldn't go back, she just couldn't.

Olga, on the other hand, waited until Brooke was out of the store to express how disappointed she was that her father could give in to flirtatious tactics. "And I'm sure that Mommy won't want to see you in the house tonight. She's already locked the door, I'm afraid. Goodbye, Daddy." she said coldly, before leaving.

And the next morning, the Olga came back, and helped her mother make a hard decision. She hadn't been happy since she'd been married to Bob, and at one point, when Olga had been engaged, she'd warned her not to "make the same mistake I made" (the wedding hadn't worked out, and only Helga could've told her sister why). It was a bit of a scandalous act, but Miriam got a divorce, and Olga said she was sure that her money could get them a lawyer that would hand over the telephone store. Then Miriam could run it (she loved business and her drinking was her only way of entertainment, since she had nothing to do at home) and Olga offered to move back in and act as housekeeper. For now, the Pataki women agreed on it, and they kicked Bob out easily.

Then Olga went into Helga's room to wake her up. "Rise and shine, baby sister!" she called softly. "We've got something to-" she broke off. It was obvious that Helga hadn't been in her bed for a few hours, and Olga guessed she'd gone to join the march.

"Mommy!" she squealed in horror. "Helga's gone! And I think I know where she is, too!"

**We'll catch up with the march next chapter. Please review.**


	7. Chapter 7: Princess In Her Tower

**Now, let's continue. BTW, Phoebe does lapse into Japanese at one point. "Hai" means yes and "kudasai" means please. Thanks for reviewing, LeDawn, Nep2uune, BettyAwesome715 and DannySamLover20.**

Helga turned up for the march early. Young men and women were all there, from the ages of fifteen up. But Helga was the only white person there.

She knew what the risks were, but she didn't care. She walked right at the front with Gerald just behind her, holding up a placard that read "_Do The Checkerboard". _The other protesters had things like "_Integration Not Segregation" _and "_Black and White, Unite"._

They marched through the whole town, getting up to where the station aired from, chanting over and over, "_Two, four, six, eight! TV's gotta integrate!"_

Olga caught up to Helga halfway through the afternoon. "Baby sister! You can't run off like that!" she exclaimed. She exchanged a quick greeting with Jamie O, who was leading in spite of the fact that he was one of the younger ones at twenty-two.

"I don't think they really need you. Look at all these people." Olga persisted to Helga. "You have to come home. Besides, Mommy and I have something very important to discuss-" She gave up as Helga completely blanked her, moving to the other side of the mob.

Meanwhile, Brooke was talking on the phone to her husband, who managed the news. She didn't really communicate with him at home, but he was still her husband and Rhonda's father. "No, we are not sending a camera crew, Buckley, they're protesting this station...Why is your Channel Five crew there?...Well, of course they're all Negroes, who else would..." Brooke gasped, realizing what was going on. "I know who would. I'm calling the authorities."

That's how there was a man-made barricade waiting for the protesters. They got to it around six pm.

"Is there a reason we can't pass peacefully?" Jamie O challenged.

One of the policemen stepped forward. "I suggest you and all your little friends go back to where you belong." He turned away.

Helga stepped forward. "Hey, bucko, we're not doing anything wrong! You don't have to be so rude to us!"

"Helga." whispered Olga.

"I can handle this." Jamie O began, but Helga wasn't listening.

"Hey, we're still talking to you!" She hit the man with her placard. It wasn't that hard, but the man still called it "assault with a blunt instrument" and from then on, the police began swarming around, trying to arrest everyone.

Olga gave her little sister a push away from the policemen. "Run, baby sister!" she called, trying to do the same herself.

Meanwhile, the Heyerdahl residence had a shock when none other than Phoebe's best friend "Helga Pataki, TV personality" was reported to have viciously attacked a law enforcer.

Kyo fixed his daughter with a stern glare. "Phoebe, I'm afraid I must forbid you to see that girl again." At that exact moment, Helga appeared at the window, mouthing "_Help!"_

"_Hai_." Phoebe nodded respectfully to her father. "Yes, Dad. Excuse me, _kudasai."_

She ran to the side door to let Helga in. "So what actually happened?" she asked.

"I was at the march and I...kind of hit one of the policemen with my placard." Helga confessed. "It was obvious I didn't hurt him seriously – I mean, it was just cardboard – but they're after me now. I need somewhere to hide."

"We have a basement." Phoebe said. "You can live there until this blows over...if it does. I'll get you some stuff."

"Thank you, Phoebe." Helga said gratefully. "I'm glad you're my best friend."

"Phoebe Heyerdahl!"

The two girls turned guiltily. Kyo had caught them in the act, and he was furious. He locked the two girls into Phoebe's room, leaving to call the authorities so they could arrest Helga, and keep Phoebe in her room until further notice. She had an ensuite bathroom.

"I'm sorry, Pheebs." sighed Helga. "Everything I touch seems to cause misery." Even her pigtails seemed to droop.

"It's not your fault," Phoebe consoled. "You were just trying to do the right thing."

The girls sat in silence for five minutes. Finally, Helga went into the ensuite bathroom.

At that moment, there was the sound of a thump, and the Phoebe turned to her window. A very familiar boy was there.

"Gerald!" exclaimed Phoebe in a whisper. "Don't let my dad know you're here!"

"What happened?" Gerald asked.

"My dad's punishing me for helping a fugitive, especially after he'd just forbidden me to even see her." Phoebe sighed. "What are you doing here?"

Gerald's dark eyes looked deep into Phoebe's almond orbs. "I'm here to rescue the princess locked in her tower, baby." he said. Then he leant in and kissed Phoebe. At first it was gentle, but Phoebe pulled him closer and the kiss became more passionate.

"Oh, you do care." gasped Phoebe as she broke apart for air. "I was scared our skin colours would keep us apart." Although Phoebe was half-Asian, she was still counted as "white".

Over at the Pataki home, Olga was in tears, telling Miriam what had happened, when there was a knock on the door. Again, there was a familiar boy on the doorstep, and Olga recognized him immediately. "Arnold?"

"Um, hi." Arnold said awkwardly. "I just overheard on the news about the march...I find it hard to believe Helga could be as aggressive at it said. I mean, I know she's not as mean as she says..."

"I was there, and she didn't do that!" Olga exclaimed. "He didn't bleed or anything!"

"I should've been there. With her." Arnold said, looking guilty. "I'm worried about her."

"Come in." Olga invited. "Mommy and I are worried about her, too."

It didn't take long for Arnold to venture into the door marked "Helga's Room." He couldn't help singing part of a new hit song, changing it a little to keep in with the situation.

"_Once I was a selfish fool who never understood,_

_Never looked inside myself, but on the outside, I looked good._

_Then we met and you made me the man I am today_

_Helga, I'm in love with you, no matter what you weigh." _He brushed the pillow on the bed with his hand, and found something hard underneath it, still singing.

"_Cause without love, life is like the seasons with no summer_

_Without love, life is rock'n'roll without a drummer_

_Helga, I'll be yours forever cause I-" _He broke off as he found the object under Helga's pillow. It was a small pink book. It made Arnold curious as to what was inside it, and the minute he opened it, his own name jumped out at him in swirly handwriting that was unmistakably Helga's:

"_I can hear the bells, my parents will smile_

_If they even care, if Bob walks me down the aisle_

_I know Olga will cry, but I won't see cause Arnold and I will kiss then_

_Listen, cause I can hear the bells."_

Arnold put down the book for a moment. "_I know I love her." _he thought. He'd fallen for her, starting from the day he'd first seen her dancing in detention. Over the next few weeks, no matter how many times Helga tried to push him away, he had just fallen further for her. And now, Arnold had discovered, she'd been in love with him all this time. "_I must have broken her heart when I said I couldn't join her. That's why she pushed me away so harshly."_

Meanwhile, Gerald was getting Phoebe and Helga out of the house, so they could take the car back to the Johanssen place. Helga was happy to be out, but her heart felt like it was tearing in two whenever she looked at her best friend and Gerald. She was pretty glad to have to hide in the car boot while her friends were in the backseat, sticking together like glue.

"Oh, Arnold..." she whispered to herself. "Why couldn't you have come with us?"

**I had a lot to get through, but this seemed like an OK place to cut off. Join me next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8: Competition Plan

**Here's the next chapter. Oh, and what Brooke says about her risk, I take that directly from the implication in "Miss Baltimore Crabs" when Velma claimed that she "screwed the judges". Thanks for reviewing, Nep2uune, DannySamLover20, BettyAwesome715, Guest and LeDawn.**

Most of the teenagers from the march were at the Johanssen place by the time Gerald's group got there. Luckily, their parents were still away, but Jamie O had made it home, and within five minutes, both he and Timberly were up.

Everyone went silent.

"You hiding her here?" Jamie O addressed Gerald. "Why didn't you think of that before? Why didn't you, seriously?" He gave Gerald a punch in the shoulder, and then grinned at Helga. Next he looked at Phoebe. "So, what about this one?"

Timberly, ever the annoying sister, caught on first, and began chanting "_Gerald's got a girlfriend, Gerald's-"_

"Shut up, Timberly!" cried Gerald in frustration.

"You shut up!" retorted the younger girl.

"Both of you shut up." Jamie O said. "But if this is love, you kids better stand strong. You'll have to be prepared for a lot of crap from a bunch of idiots."

"You've met my parents?" Phoebe deadpanned. Gerald put his arm around his new girlfriend.

The Miss Teenage Hairspray Pageant was the next day, and everyone had to plan. Helga called Olga and Miriam to let them know she was OK and tell them their part in the plan. Both Miriam and Olga would go to the live studio and Phoebe would meet her outside, then they'd go in together, but no matter how many times she asked, Helga wouldn't tell her anything else, except to create a diversion at a particular time.

It was the first time people were being let in to see the pageant live. There were plenty of agents there, as well as having other people, namely Olga (who was disguised a little bit so she wouldn't be recognized as one of the white girls from the march) and Phoebe.

There were police outside, watching in case Helga tried to get in. Brooke had hired them, but it seemed hard to find her. There seemed to be quite a few people with blonde pigtails and a bow, but the police looked at each of them to check for the distinctive face shape and deep blue eyes that belonged to the youngest Pataki.

A bunch of the black kids had also sneaked in, including Gerald. Jamie O and Timberly were among them.

Brooke was walking around, greeting everyone as they walked in. "It's very exciting, our first show going live. Oh, _Oklahoma! _My Rhonda would be just perfect, she's the tall dark beauty."

The opening number before the pageant went well. Rhonda and Arnold entered the stage last. "Hey, look, there's an agent over there." Rhonda whispered. Arnold pretended not to hear.

"We should try to get signed on together." Rhonda persisted. Arnold continued to ignore her, acting the role, smiling brightly. He was much more professional than she.

Brooke was still talking to one of the officers through a walkie-talkie. She was convinced Helga was going to try to get into the building, although the officer argued "I seriously doubt any girl would be desperate enough to risk incarceration to win some pageant."

"Huh," Brooke muttered under her breath. "I risked STDs to win my own pageant, she'll definitely risk it all."

The minute they were off TV, Rhonda started yelling about the hairspray. "You sprayed it right in my face, I nearly went blind as well as almost suffocating!" she snapped at Arnold, who continued to pretend he couldn't even hear her, although she was really annoying him. He wasn't going to risk losing his temper with Rhonda in front of her mother, so he just acted like he didn't even know she was yelling at him.

One of the other boys from the council sauntered up to Rhonda as Arnold walked away. "Trouble in paradise?" he asked, smirking. "So, you ready to accept my offer yet?"

Rhonda couldn't stand this particular boy. She hadn't minded him talking to her at first, but after three years, it was almost unbearable. He'd tried to ask her out several times over the years, but she'd said no every time. She used to scream at him, but nowadays, she kept to coldly cutting him off. Today was no different.

Rhonda turned away from the boy and said emotionlessly "Go away, Curly. I am not going out with you, not now and not ever."

"Come on, Rhonda-" Curly began, but it was time for the talent part of the show to begin, and everyone had to return to their places. People were calling in with their votes straightaway, even as the first councilette, Sheena, had only just begun dancing.

Olga took her cue, and sneaked out of the studio.

Five minutes later, the police thought they'd seen Helga, but the minute they grabbed the girl, she smiled sweetly, saying "Were you looking for someone?"

Now they saw her, the girl was older than Helga, and was slightly taller. Her pigtails were shorter, and she had blue eyes, but they could tell Helga's older sister from Helga herself.

At that moment, two of Gerald's friends were ready to put Operation Get Her Into The Studio into action. They barricaded the doors while the police were realizing they had the wrong person, and they had to pick up one of the huge imitation plastic Hairspray cans to batter the door down.

At the side door, Gerald appeared, and beckoned to Olga to come back in while the police were occupied.

Finally, they managed to bust the door down. Brooke came to meet them.

"Nice of you to finally show up." she scowled. "How hard is it to open a door, even if it's barricaded?"

"Well, the hairspray thing we used to open it was heavy, and-" one of the men started to protest, but Brooke interrupted.

"Heavy? How can they be heavy, they're hollow..." Brooke started to realize what had happened, and rushed to find their battering ram. There was a little opening in the can, that was swung open. The can was empty now, but Brooke realized what had happened. "Oh my God...you brought her in yourselves!"

But the door to the stage was barricaded by the time the men and Brooke were trying to get back in. No one noticed the flash of blonde hair that sneaked backstage, or noticed the girl that was waiting in the rocket that acted as the throne for Miss Teenage Hairspray, who would step in it once her name was announced. It would be waiting for her after she was announced, only this time, there would be someone else waiting.

Rhonda, who was last, finished her dance (which wasn't quite as good as the others, it seemed), and the host finally came to the stage. "And now, we are so close to announcing the champion. This has been a tough one, this year. Ladies and gentlemen, the final tally."

The kids with the rocket started to lower as the host read the result. "It is my obligation to announce that Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd..."

"Is about to learn her lesson."

The audience gasped as the girl inside the rocket stepped off.

"Helga Pataki!" announced the host.

Rhonda stared, looking shocked. Helga smiled, stepping off. She was wearing her trademark colour of pink, but in a much more dressy style, and her blonde hair cascaded past her shoulders. She still had a pink bow, but only a little one, on a headband.

She smiled, the audience smiled, the host smiled, but there was one more smile that Helga didn't see.

And that smile came from Arnold.

"**You Can't Stop The Beat" next! I can't wait! This chapter was annoying, but I can't wait to write the next. Hope you liked that little bit of Rhonda/Curly there, couldn't resist, I've watched "Curly's Girl" twice today and I just stopped watching at the bit when he dumped her. Please review!**

**And also, PLEASE, vote on the poll on my profile! It'll only take one second.**


	9. Chapter 9: A Chance To Dance

**OK, let's finish the story. Thanks for reviewing, Nep2uune and DannySamLover20.**

Helga walked up to Rhonda as she began her song. "_You can't stop an avalanche as it races down a hill,_

_You can try to stop the seasons, girl, but you know you never will. _

_And you can try to stop my dancing feet but I just cannot stand still..." _Rhonda couldn't help feeling scared as the blonde advanced on her. Eventually, she ran to Arnold, but she was left confused when he wouldn't respond to her, and continued to watch Helga. Finally, Helga finished the verse of the song, and Arnold came forward, singing the next part with her.

"_Cause you can't stop the beat!" _Helga hadn't expected this, thinking Arnold wouldn't want to know her after she'd pushed him away before, but a sense of joy filled her, and she rose to the occasion.

"_Ever since this old world began, a woman found that if she shook it she could shake up a man_

_So I'm gonna shake and shimmy it the best that I can today, cause you can't stop_

_The motion of the ocean or the sun in the sky, you can wonder if you wanna but I never ask why_

_And if you try to hold me down I'm gonna spit in your eye and say, that you can't stop the beat!"_

Arnold suddenly gave Helga a hug as the audience began to cheer. Helga smiled up at him, giving him the first real smile he'd ever seen on her face. "They love you." she whispered.

Arnold grinned. "Maybe. Not for long." He saw the one girl in the audience that had the biggest desire to show them what she could do. "Timberly, come over here!" He grabbed the hand of the younger girl and pulled her onstage. "Let's dance!"

"Miss Timberly Johanssen, ladies and gentlemen!" announced the host. By this time, Rhonda had gone to the rocket, but she'd immediately been pulled up by the ropes on the rocket, since they were worked by a couple of kids Gerald was friends with. They had been in on the plan, of course.

Timberly hadn't expected to be able to dance on TV, but she'd practised dancing and singing for years, and she rose to the occasion perfectly. She may have been only thirteen, but she could dance just as well as the older girls, and better. She started off dancing with Arnold, but eventually he faded into the background, and Timberly finished her dance alone.

The phones were ringing again, last minute votes stacking up.

Gerald ran in, pulling Phoebe onto the stage, but she stopped him, noticing Timberly before he did. Finally, she finished her dance and ran back to her place in the audience. Jamie O, again filling in for the absent parents, gave her a hug.

It was time for shy little Phoebe to take centre stage. She began singing. "_You can't stop a river as it rushes to the sea..."_

"_You can try to stop the hands of time, but you know it just can't be." _Gerald chimed in.

"_And if they try to stop us, Gerald," _Phoebe began, and they sang the next line together.

"_I'll call the N double-A CP!"_

Phoebe returned to singing solo "_Cause the world keeps spinning round and round, and my heart's keeping time to the speed of sound_

_I was lost til' I heard the drums, then I found my way..."_

Gerald and Phoebe sang their chorus together, then kissed.

"I am now a Checkerboard Chick!" Phoebe announced for the world to hear before she kissed Gerald passionately again. Little did she know that the TV was on at her house, and her parents stared at their daughter kissing a black boy.

Rhonda was scared, stuck nearly at the ceiling in the rocket. Why wasn't Brooke stopping this, she wondered.

Because the police still couldn't get through the door. Indeed, the door didn't budge until after Rhonda had fallen out of the rocket (thankfully, she was completely fine since the fall wasn't that far) and it was time to announce the new Miss Teenage Hairspray. Anyone who danced was eligible, black or white, which meant there were three more candidates to vote for, no matter how much Brooke could protest. She and the police waited for the announcement.

"And the new Miss Hairspray is..." the host announced..."Timberly Johanssen!"

"WHAT?" shrieked Rhonda. Timberly grinned wider than anyone would have thought possible and ran onstage. Brooke scowled, but there was nothing she could do.

"Wow, man." Gerald remarked to his brother. "Our bratty little sister is Miss Teenage Hairspray."

"I know, right?" Jamie O punched his brother in the shoulder in a would-be brotherly harmless way. Gerald rubbed his shoulder. His brother's punches really did hurt, even when they weren't supposed to.

"Well," the host said to Timberly. "This also makes you the lead dancer on our show. So this channel, ladies and gentlemen, is officially integrated!"

The audience cheered. Everyone was hugging each other. Helga even hugged Arnold, something she would never have dared to do in public before.

Rhonda was standing next to Brooke, watching the now integrated dancers. Everyone was invited to join in.

Curly caught her eye and grinned. Rhonda rolled her eyes. "_No way." _she mouthed.

"Stop staring!" Brooke hissed.

Rhonda frowned. "Mother, I lost. Can't I just have some fun, at least?"

"You couldn't have lost!" Brooke snapped. "You couldn't have! I switched the tallies!"

"Smile, Mrs Lloyd! You're on camera!" Brooke swung around at the voice. A fully sober and alert Miriam was pointing the camera at her, Olga by her side, smiling.

Next thing everyone knew, Brooke was fired, even though she was furious, and Rhonda was dancing with everyone else. Well, everyone besides Curly had a partner, so she had to dance with him, but it wasn't as bad as she'd feared. Still, she kept wary. Knowing him, he'd sneak a kiss the minute she let her guard down.

"Last chance to join the dance, everyone is welcome."

Miriam looked at her older daughter. "Olga, do you think..."

"You only get one chance." Olga said. "I'm going to dance myself, and I remember how you used to before Helga was born. Go on, Mommy, show them what you can do!"

The blondes ran onstage, and Miriam took centre stage, having her own verse, and everyone echoed the chorus. The Pataki women all did a dance in the centre together, and Miriam hugged both her daughters before leaving the stage.

Then it was time to wrap up, and Jamie O went onstage to lead the dancers in the last verse. Then, during the last chorus, right in the middle of it, Arnold caught hold of Helga's hand and the two of them ran down an aisle created by the gap right in the middle of the dancers. Phoebe and Gerald were right behind them. And then, as the show ended, Helga Geraldine Pataki had the most wonderful experience of the sixteen years she'd experienced, something she'd dreamed about for years. Bells chimed in her ears, the positive feelings love brought overpowered her, and every wish she'd ever had came true, just for that one minute.

Arnold kissed her. Helga closed her eyes, memorizing that feeling of Arnold's lips on hers. She'd wished for this moment to come, and now that it had, it was more wonderful than she ever could have imagined.

And then, by the end of that day, she and Arnold were officially a couple. If someone had told Helga she would help integrate TV and make her one and only fall in love with her a month before, they would have a fist known as Ol' Betsy to answer to. But it was true, and as they kissed again, Helga G. Pataki believed that she must be the happiest girl in the world.

**The End**

**A/N: Well, that's it! So how about just leaving me one more little review? Please?**


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